The Bloodthirsty Butchers sound check was the loudest thing I have ever heard when the band played in Taiwan in 2008. And for a band that overtly models themselves in the likeness of My Bloody Valentine, dare I say they they were louder?

I witnessed My Bloody Valentine’s set at Fuji Rock the same year when they went into the 20-minute feedback storm for the song “You Made Me Realize.” That was pretty loud, but not in a painful, off putting way. But as a testament to these powerful sound waves, the  fabric on my trousers did begin to flap. A recap of this concert is here.

But where the Bloodthirsty Butchers have them beat is they b-r-i-n-g it every time, with each song being a sonic blast, from the beginning of the show to the end. Also, their sound is not a simple pop melody obfuscated by fuzzy guitars but something more ferocious and experimental.

Formed in Sapporo in 1987,  Bloodthirsty Butchers perform at such an ultra loud intensity with intention arrhythmic beats that they make most audiences uncomfortable, vibrating cocktails glasses off bar tops, fluttering headware, and inspiring the first 15 rows in the front of the stage to leap into a wild mosh pit.

Most of their songs are experimental in nature, lacking familiar verse-chorus-verse arrangement popular with other J-pop bands. Also, they enjoy arrhythmic beats that move  alterna-rock to a whole new form, even putting of a few pacemakers if you are standing too close to the speakers. There is a little post-rock in their to cool down like this vid for Jack Nicholson.